Twinkle, twinkle
by CrispyWolf
Summary: The March Hare and Dormouse start to plan out their taking down the Hatter. The Dormouse, still fearful due to what Hatter did to him, has a strange encounter. Takes place after "Changes for a Hare and Dormouse".


"_Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!_

_How I wonder what you're at!_

_Up above the world you fly,_

_Like a tea tray in the sky._

_You are oh-so very free._

_You must be happy indeed._

_I wonder how you'd be feeling_

_If someone came and clipped your wings._

_Your little body's very sore._

_You do not twinkle anymore._

_Is this how it has to end?_

_Will you ever fly again?_

_Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!  
How I wonder what you're at!"_

As the Dormouse sang to himself, he felt his eyelids starting to droop, despite the fact that his right eye was held open. His grasp on the machinery he was working on loosened until his arms fell against the old checkered vest of his he had found and put on after he and Hare left that horrible lab. He continued to think about what horror he had been through and how oblivious he was to most of it until he realized that he was falling asleep. "If only there was another way to keep myself awake so I can help Hare." he thought. "If only..."

Hare had been at another side of the machine, hacking it. He had been very concentrated on it, knowing his plan depended on his new found mechanical skills. He was quite impressed with himself at how fast he learned how to work with machinery. He bet he was nearly as good as the Hatter, if not better! Like the Dormouse, he was also wearing some old clothes of his that he found: a plaid red vest over a white buttoned shirt, complete with a crimson bow-tie.

Hare considered for a moment that his friend probably wasn't learning to deal with mechanical gizzards as fast as he was and his help may be needed to speed the plan along. Heaven forbid Hatter should find them up and about, their attempts at vengeance would surely backfire! "In need of any assistance, Dormy?" No answer came from the other side of the machine. "Lad?" It was still silent. The March Hare grumbled to himself, knowing that his idea of having the Dormouse's eye held open didn't work. He walked towards his friend's side of the machine, hoping to just shake him awake and get back to work. When Hare saw his friend, the little mouse was sleeping upright, shaking, and muttering words Hare couldn't make out. The mouse's body then dropped to the floor, his tail thrashing and his head fidgeting. Finally, he started clawing at the floor, making small marks and whimpering. The Hare couldn't take watching it any longer and quickly shook the Dormouse awake with his only organic hand.

The Dormouse was startled awake. He quickly looked up at the Hare, who's worried glare stared right into the mouse's eyes. The Dormouse got up on his wheels as he tried to explain himself.

"I-I didn't mean to fall asleep on the job, Hare! I want to help, but I...I..."

"I know."

The Hare looked around, trying to think of a possible solution to the issue. He looked at a pile of rubbish that was laying around. Walking towards it, he noticed something shining, standing out in the heap of garbage. Once close enough, he got a hold of the shining object and picked it up from the garbage it was buried under, revealing that it was a large key. "Too convenient..." The Hare thought. The Dormouse was too worried to notice that the Hare was planning. "I think we should get back to hacking the machines, Hare. What if Hatter finds us before we get to take him down?" he said, looking at the machinery. "Aye, the sooner the better." the Hare responded, looking at the key he found and back at his friend. Hare turned to the Dormouse. "Look here, Dorm." The mouse looked back at Hare, noticing the key.

"What are we to do with that?"

"Well, we do need to keep you awake in order for this to work..."  
"What do you mean?"

"I don't like what I'm going to have to do, though."

"What are you going to do with it?"

"Get on your stomach."

"But why?"

"On your belly!"

The Dormouse got down on all fours and then rested his upper half on the floor as Hare had asked. Hare walked back to the mouse and knelt down behind him. "Now hold still. I don't like having to hack into your body, but hopefully this will be the last time I'll have to do so. This may hurt." The Hare placed his hand on the gear in the mouse's back, then took one of the tools he was using to hack into the machine and started making adjustments to the clockwork inside the mouse's body. The Dormouse felt every adjustment, but tried not to pay attention. He tolerated it for awhile, but it started to get more painful with every part that had to be moved. At one point, the little mouse let out a soft moan, making the Hare wince. As soon as Hare calmed himself down internally, he placed his hand on the Dormouse's head to comfort him. "I'm almost done. It's almost over, I promise." Finally, the Hare placed the key into the newly made slot in the mouse's back, making it go in with a click. Just as the Hare noticed his friend starting to fall asleep again, he decided to test his theory and wound up the key.

The Dormouse awoke from his near sleep-like state with a jolt. His eyes were wide open as he looked at his back to see the top of the key stuck inside it, still spinning. "All done." the Hare declared. "How does it feel?" The Dormouse couldn't describe how it felt, but he knew he felt more wide awake and energetic now. "Much better!" he beamed. "Much, much better, indeed!" "Good. Let's get back to work, shall we? I suppose whenever you start to drift back into slumber, you can just wind yourself back up again, so we won't have to worry about that now. Just watch yourself, alright? Heaven forbid you should ever fall asleep alone." the Hare put out.

Later that evening, the two of them had separated, looking for any machinery they did not yet touch. The Dormouse was in charge of looking in the more downward levels of the domain, like the entrance and the rubbish chute. Careful to make sure the Hatter wasn't around, the mouse had just finished checking everywhere but the rubbish chute. As he entered the garbage-filled room, he had to take notice of how disgusting it was. There were rusted scraps of metal, food scraps, and other trash scattered all over the place. As if that wasn't enough, there was a pile of more rubbish in the back of the room and puddles of polluted water on the floor. If the Dormouse was still able to smell, he may have not been brave enough to remain in the room, for it stank of oil, rotted food, excess waste, and corpses.

The Dormouse started to go in the direction of the machinery in the room when a strange feeling came over him. He stopped in his tracks, thinking at first he was sensing Hatter's presence. He nervously looked around, wondering what Hatter would be doing in the rubbish room if he obviously didn't have it well kept. Maybe he had caught Hare and forced him to admit where he was? Was he aware that they were hacking his machines all along? Perhaps he was actually in the domain when they thought he had left and heard everything the two were planning? The mouse suddenly felt his eyelids droop. As he sensed himself falling asleep, he quickly shook his head and reached for the wind up key in his back. As he wound himself back up, he looked around the room. There was no sign of Hatter and he didn't hear the elevator going down. He could've sworn he sensed someone else in the room with him. His puzzled thoughts were interrupted when he felt a fingernail on his back.

"Ah, Dormouse... How pleasant it is to see you."

The Dormouse turned around to see a large, skinny face with black goo oozing out of his empty eye sockets and mouth. The face's skinny, blue vested body was arcing over the large pile of rubbish. The mouse didn't know how the huge figure was there, let alone how he got there, all he knew was that there was a giant monstrosity in front of him, looking him in the eye. He didn't know what to think or how to feel. "Please, sir," the mouse began. "Don't startle me like that. I was very much frightened already." The figure's finger, which never left the mouse's back, started stroking the mouse's shoulder blade. "So sorry..." replied the horrid figure. "I know your story, you know...".

"Please, don't remind me..."

"How the Hatter mistreated you.."

"Please, no..."

"Pulled out your legs..."

"No, not that..."

"Cut pieces off of your little tail..."

"P-please stop..."

"Played with your organs..."

"Shut up..."

"And laughed in your face as he forced medicine down your throat while the Hare screamed."

"I said shut up!" screamed the Dormouse. He started to pull on his ears, remembering flashes of the horrid days in that lab, shutting his eyes tightly. "Yes...Painful, isn't it?" said the large figure, still calm. The Dormouse opened his eyes and looked the figure dead in the eyes. "You listen here, you...you...monstrous creature! I don't know what or who you are, but how dare you come in here and make me re-experience that!" the mouse raged. "Get out!" he barked. The horrid figure remained calm and continued looking at the Dormouse as he started breathing heavily, almost hyperventilating. "I see..." the figure observed. "If that's how painful it was," he continued. "...Than the Hatter must pay!"

The figure's finger moved from the Dormouse's shoulder to his chin. "I trust you plan to make him pay? Will you tear him apart and make him suffer as much as you did? All the times he mistreated you... All that he took from you... How he took advantage of your loyalty to him..." The figure's finger started stroking the mouse's chin. "I...I will make him suffer!" claimed the Dormouse, still breathing heavily. "If you are to take Hatter down, you must fear nothing. You must be as vicious as he was." the figure provoked.

"But...I don't want to become vicious..."

"But you will."

"What?"

"Just think, when Hatter is gone, all of this domain will be yours for the taking. If, and only if, you defeat him."

"If...and only if..."

"The past is dead, Dormouse. He doesn't control you anymore. This is the dawn of a new era, my friend. You will show him who the leader is now."

"...Yes...I will...I will! Ahahaha..."

"You are not the weakest of the trio now, Dormouse. Hatter is! Take his domain by force and use it to your advantage. All you have to do is stand up for yourself and you will have all the glory of a fearless leader." the figure took his finger off the Dormouse's chin and drew back his ugly hand. The Dormouse turned himself around to look around the room. The stink, the trash, the filth; It seemed perfect. "This looks like an excellent place." the Dormouse mused. "Oh, yes. An excellent place for Hatter to rot." He turned around to look at the figure again, only it was gone. Had he possibly have been dreaming? He turned to look at the wind-up key in his back which was still spinning. He scratched his head in confusion for a moment, then decided that he had wasted enough time in the rubbish room. The Dormouse left to catch up with the Hare and wait for the Hatter.


End file.
